


Aspects

by TwilightVelvet



Series: Erastuck [1]
Category: Homestuck, Original Work
Genre: F/F, F/M, Hemospectrum, Hemospectrum Shift, M/M, Multi, Naga, Snakes, Work In Progress, draft
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-22
Updated: 2019-01-13
Packaged: 2019-05-10 01:40:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14727558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwilightVelvet/pseuds/TwilightVelvet
Summary: Hemospectrum shift fic based on 13-sign astrology and precession of the axes (having Pisces at the spring equinox). Feferi's blood is red and everyone else is shifted one blood color up.





	1. Conjunct

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Homestuck](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/390410) by Andrew Hussie. 



“Gray, gray, _gray_ , it’s all gray,” she whined. Denneb was just about through with having to put up with the Emperor and Prince Eridan’s new initiative to get rid of all of the tsongs on Bayona that still knew how to have fun. Giant buildings now scraped the sky and put off so much light and smoke that it was impossible to tell direction from the stars. They were buried, smothered under the blanket of “Innovation.” _Destroying nature isn’t new_ , Denneb thought. After all, tsongs had been conquering and changing planets throughout all of what most knew to be their existence.

Denneb wasn’t most tsongs. She routinely strayed far from her hive along with her lusus to hunt for sustenance and simply admire the land. Her favorite part was the jade grass. Tall and broad blades grew thick within the woods beyond all of the hives and lawn rings, hiding tiny animals and tinier creeks within. Even more odd about Denneb was her tendency to stay out late, late enough to see the sun beginning to paint the world gold. These days, the daytime was the only time that the true colors of the sky could be observed.

Quietly did Denneb maneuver through the vegetation, as this was a path upon which she had tread a great many times before. Although tsongs were wide awake at this hour, few had ever thought to wander this far from home. The huntress was determined to cover new ground this time, as she had every other time, requiring her to use all of her focus and natural endurance. She became so focused, in fact, that she didn’t notice a rustling sound made by a group of creatures all too familiar to her.

* * *

“Let me tell you what, Denneb. I’ll give you a second chance if I hear it thundering out there.”

“Oh, that’d be just purrfect, Niedah!” Denneb said, not even having to make an attempt to show her displeasure at the situation. Terezi had to be playing another one of her tricks, but Denneb couldn’t figure out her angle this time. Objectively, it was thundering outside, which would give her the second chance that any other tsong would plainly give. But things never work that easily with Zooben Niedah. How would she twist words this time?

“Well Denneb, it seems you were correct. It’s raining, I can see that. Your little streams look quite alive. And the lightning, it’s so harsh, and beautiful, like little cracks in our world showing us the afterlife. The air, it smells like metal and… Hm. I must have lost my train of thought. Anyways, Miss Denesh, I do not believe it is thundering outside.”

“What?” Denneb screeched. “What do you mean? You’re no liar, you promised!”

“And kept my promise I did. I don’t hear a thing outside. Why, if I turned my back, just now, I’d be apt to think I couldn’t make sense of what you were saying at all.” Zooben turned her back and waved her hand, shooing Denneb off. “Now, get along, Denneb. Your hive’s probably still warm, and your lusus is definitely sick of looking for you. The storm’s going to get worse and I don’t want your bags to get wet.” 

Denneb saw no reason to complain. This was simply a minor setback among a long list of such; she would certainly recover. And, though the storm did have a small increase in strength, it faded away quickly shortly thereafter, assuring that Denneb would make it to her hive with nothing worse than a common cold. With all of her worldly possessions on her back, the trip home would have to be easy.

* * *

As the night went on, Denneb realized that it might not be that easy to get home. Something clicked in her once she eventually heard the rustling and realized what time of the sweep it was. Near the apogees, little creatures called nagas crawled out from their earthen dwellings to the warmer parts of the continent. Sure as trees made little green apples, she saw little tsongish forms start to crawl out with tails like those of garden snakes. Like imps, nagas caused trouble wherever they were found, killing whatever small beasts that they could overpower. However, the most offensive part of the little creatures was the disgusting process they went through to have children. Once nagas had made it to the warmer regions, they mated, with the females carrying the grubs inside of their bodies. Denneb let the nagas go about their night, as she shuddered thinking of having a living tsong inside of her.

Denneb encountered more and more nagas as she went deeper and deeper into the forest. If only she had been able to figure out Pyrope, then maybe she would have a place to stay away from the little monsters. On second thought, maybe they weren’t that bad? Denneb hadn’t heard stories of them being aggressive towards the higher tsongs. In fact, some of them started following her like little pets. Smiling, they whispered at Denneb in their own special language. In fact, it was sweet of them to make the grass so soft for Denneb to sleep on. She really did need to lay down. And it was so nice how they turned the lights off; Denneb would have no trouble resting up before the rest of the walk home…

When Denneb came to, she immediately noticed two things: one, that there were itchy snakebites on her right ankle and two, that she was constrained by an elaborate network of ropes covering all of her body except the head. “Hey, you!” she protested. “Let me out of here! I need to get home, can’t you see that? You all don’t even eat tsongs, just dumb mice and worms!” She stopped abruptly, coming to realize that a large and formidable tsong was walking up to her. “Yes, another tsong! Please help, I’ve been captured by nagas and I need someone to untie me!”

“And what draws you to the assumption that I will free you? Little girl, I hope my little trick isn’t still affecting your judgement. Do you… _know_ who you are speaking to?” the figure questioned.

“Well, I was hoping you were a really nice tsong who likes untying trapped kittens. Are you not?” Denneb asked, hoping to receive a similarly warm reaction. However, all she received was a better image of the figure looming above her. 

What Denneb saw was an untsongish beast. All of his features appeared normal upon the most cursory glance, but through closer inspection, it could be seen that he had only a twisted resemblance to those of cultured beings. He was large, appearing to stand at least ten feet tall. In the place of legs, he had a winding heliotrope tail that was many feet long, identifying him as one of the nagas. His horns were thick, yet sharp, tapering into dangerous points. His hair was long and straight. Over his eyes, he work dark, cracked lenses that were too small to hide heavy violet bags and too transparent to hide bloodshot eyes. The beast’s maw had fangs more pronounced than those of modern tsongs, Denneb noticed, and his nose was tall and crooked. He wore a dazzling black and golden garment over his chest, but as for the rest of his torso and arms, they were marred by his puffy physique and numerous deep scars. Overall, he seemed like he lived a comfortable life, but hadn’t been in that position for more than a sweep.

Slowly, the beast contorted his face into what had to have been an attempt at a smile. “Oh, I can be. I take it that you appreciate my form. That will make things easier for you once we become more formally acquainted. What is your name?” the naga asked.

“You haven’t given me a reason to divulge that information. All that I ask is to be freed.” This very quickly angered him.

“ _Look_ ,” he barked, “I know that as a jadeblood you are educated enough to know not to presume to give a violetblood orders. As of this moment I _own_ you now and am more than capable of taking things by force.” He picked up a palm-sized stone and ground it into fine powder with two folded hands. Now that he had brought his hands into view, Denneb could see that his claws were filed down and there was webbing between the fingers. “What is your name?”

“My name is Denneb Denesh.” He responded by untying the ropes around her neck, letting her have a better view of the scene.

“Good girl. You have such a beautiful name; it’s a shame that I won’t be using it much. Now is the time to inform you of the conventions of speaking to highbloods. You will not speak to me unless you are spoken to. You will respond when spoken to, preferably by obeying my commands without unnecessary vocalizations. You will refer to me as “sir” or “master” only. You will not contradict me. You will obey all orders that I give to you. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir.” The naga leaned in closer to stare into Denneb’s eyes.

“You’re so smart and pretty, kitty. The last pet I had was a mean little snake. Always glaring and hissing, and… I thought that we would have so much in common. You’re sweet. I don’t blame you for thinking you could escape, at first. She did, too, but without being so courteous about it. She landed many scratches on my arms trying to escape, but even she learned her lesson in time. Now, I suppose you are eager to learn the conditions of your capture. But first, I would like for you to tell me what you know of my kind.” Denneb’s new master went back to smiling.

“Yes, sir. You are a naga, a member of the clade containing the serpentine therians. Nagas are much like tsongs from the head to the hips and snakes from the hips below. Another feature that nagas and tsongs share is a blood-based caste system. They live in karstic and heavily forested environments and normally stay away from tsongs. Nagas eat the meat of small animals. Near the apogees, they migrate to their mating grounds on the warmer part of the continent. Female nagas are called nagins. Nagins carry their young within them inside of eggs until they are ready to be laid.” The master untied her torso and arms gave her a warm look. Denneb stretched, sat up, and paid close attention to the master’s words.

“Very good, pet. You’re almost ready to come with me to my home. With everything that you have told me, I suppose that you want to know something about me, personally. My duty is to protect my fellow nagas from being captured, injured, or otherwise pestered by tsongs. My strength and size make me well-suited to this task, along with any others that the Archduke and His heir request of me.” He smiled again in a rather disturbing way. "The heir and I are personal friends. You will be introduced to him after it is made sure that you will be an excellent pet. It does get rather lonely, so far from society. I expect that you will serve well to alleviate this. Am I correct?"

"You are correct, master." Denneb was frightened beyond reason, but she still saw it better to keep her captor calm.

"Very good." The formidable naga was filled with a sort of glee at seeing Denneb squirm. "You are ready for the ride home. I've watched you follow the many paths through this forest, so I suppose that you might know this one." Nagas and nagins crawled up to Denneb and her master and presented them with dark cloaks. "These will prevent us from being so easily recognized and followed." The naga picked up Denneb in a bridal carry and made his way between the trees.

The view of the forest grew ever more spectacular as it neared the morning. The master, however, was careful not to let his pet face the harsh sun. The sunrise is beautiful, he thought, but I should not let her be hurt. Just as the sun began to cast warm light over the jade grass, he carried the tired girl inside. A spacious room was prepared for her with a cool green recuperacoon in one corner, with all sorts of drawers and closets lining the walls. The most spectacular part of the room was a bed fit for a highblood, one decorated with layers of black and lavender sheets and a multitude of royal purple pillows with gold tassels. If Denneb were fully awake, she would have felt very uncomfortable with the symbolism of the room.

The naga gently jostled Denneb until she awoke. "We're here, love. I'll just set you beside the recuperacoon." He slid out of the room and closed the door. Denneb took off her jacket and slid into the calming liquid, as if anything could serve to quell this nightmare. The last bits of her consciousness slipped away, leaving her vulnerable to the monster's whims.

* * *

In his personal room, a monster that is known to few as Abliss Alsadr struggled to keep himself calm around his new pet. The instinct of nagas to mate at this time of sweep did not overlook him; instead, his size made it even more concerning. The truth of the matter was that the other nagas and nagins were tired of dealing with him at this time of the sweep and had been begging him for apogees to find a mate, but the ruling tsongs disagreed. At first, the heir had reservations about pushing his friend into a relationship, but when he became the focus of Abliss's desires, he quickly became on board with the idea. 

Abliss took a cold shower and tried to fall asleep, but it was no use. His tail started curling around pillows without his will, and he began to feel waves of heat pass through his body. Abliss couldn't help sliding his strong hands down his thick tail and using his fingers to coax out his spiny hemipenes. His own frustration aroused him and drove him to continue. _No tsong will ever desire this_ , he thought. _No tsong will ever let you come near them_. _Tsongs don't want eggs_ , _and nagins **certainly** don't want yours_. Abliss pumped his hands up and down his fully everted hemipenes, causing them and the sheets to become completely soaked with lubrication. He put pillows between his tail and torso and twisted around them, twitching. In his fervor, he imagined himself coupled with Denneb. 

His dream self certainly was not gentle with her. Dream Denneb knelt on the bed, facing the door, with her back exposed to her master. As it were, he did not have to grace to unlace Denneb's corset and instead ripped it off of her, breaking the bows. No matter. He had countless more for her. Denneb glanced back at Abliss, gave him a coquettish look, and purred. She arched her back, presenting her covered rear and tail to Abliss, exciting him beyond his limits. Abliss loudly growled and bit the elastic of Denneb's bloomers, holding them between his extended fangs and bottom lip. With his mouth, he pulled her undergarments down to her feet and then threw them to the floor. Abliss paused for a few moments, trying to suppress his animalistic urge to feed upon her soft flesh, for the opportunity to finally have such a beautiful mate would not come again soon.

Thankfully, thinking about Denneb as his prey had slightly distracted him from his arousal, clearing his mind. Abliss (and the Archduke) would prefer for this first encounter to be painful, not fatal. The spines on his hemipenes had wilted enough to allow Abliss to penetrate his pet's nook with one of his dusky lavender bulges. Though there was ample lubrication on Abliss's end, his size made it so that entry into Denneb would be no simple task. As soon as he began to push the head in, Denneb opened her mouth in a silent cry for help, but her training prevented her from making any noises. Abliss acutely felt her squirming and resistance and decided to reward his pet for the good behavior.

"T-thank you, pet," he said, shuddering. "You are quite adept at pleasing highbloods. It seems to suggest that you have more experience then you let on." Abliss continued pushing forward, making sure that he had taken advantage of all of Denneb's nook before the spines rendered it difficult to do so. "Yesss," he hissed, "good. You're quite the lewd little kitten: are you not?" Abliss began to breathe heavily and let his haws cover his eyes, lost in the passion of his first coupling. At this, Abliss realized that he had reached the end of Denneb's nook and became frustrated. This cannot be, he thought. Why does the body of a tsong deny itself to a higher being? To me? Abliss growled again, harsher, and gave a final push into Denneb. His spiny hemipenis, at this point, was fully erect, making it so that the spines ripped into Denneb's soft nook.

At the feeling of being ripped apart, Denneb screamed. She had never felt such an intense pain in her life. At the sight of her jade blood running freely over the sheets, she screamed again. Denneb thrashed about, trying to find a position that would mitigate this awful pain, but the stars were not in her favor. "Help!" she screamed. "Stop! No! I'll be so good,you won't believe it. I'll be the best pet in the world..." A messy stream of tears slid down her face as she trembled. "God..." All of this served only to excite her master. It took all of Abliss's inner strength to not respond to her gentle trembling by thrusting. While a regular naga's spines would prevent the coupling from ending so abruptly, Abliss's strength made it so that the spines were no obstacle. If he pleased, he could rip himself out of Denneb at any moment. ”Master, master, I love you, I'll do anything for you, but please... spare me." She looked back at Abliss to assess his expression, and even though he was not angry, she quickly edited her statement. "Though I am most grateful to be the object of your affection, it hurts, master..."

"Abliss," he breathed. "My name is Abliss." His displeasure at her still-formal tone was apparent, showing itself in his body. Abliss subtly softened, allowing him to thrust in and out of Denneb about four times, letting his spines cut into her even deeper.

"Abliss! PLEASE! I can't take any more, please, please please..." Her words became slurred, finally emerging as choked, painful cries. Abliss’s lust-addled mind interpreted these as pleas for him to continue, sending him over the edge. A steady stream of semen filled Denneb’s nook while Abliss threw his head back and moaned in bliss. 

“ _Denneb_ ,” he moaned, “Denneb!” Abliss surveyed the situation before continuing. His hemipenes hadn’t started inverting yet, especially not the neglected one. Denneb laid helpless on the bed in shock, unresponsive. Eventually, this dulled.


	2. Sesquiquartile

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate myself I hate myself I hate myself

    Abliss curled up tighter than any tsong could ever hope to. His tail wound into knots so tight that only someone as strong as he could bear the pain. He didn’t feel so strong now. An unnerved weakness spread about his body, sickening him. Then came the emptiness even more uncomfortable than the last time, or any time before.   
    Abliss held his clawed hands at the base of his folded tail and scratched himself roughly. The Imperator would not enjoy a tarnished shed, preferring the old scales of his captive to be kept in one piece. The captive could not summon the respect to care and began ripping at his tail more harshly. Rough shreds came apart in Abliss’s hands, and he tossed them to the floor with just as much force. But he could not restrain himself, clawing deeper and deeper, until his own fresh purple blood spilled onto the floor, nearly completing the palette of morbid paints used to draw the mural upon the cage floor.

* * *

  
    “Go on, beast! Fight!” Abliss would never get over the amazing feeling of showing off his strength to a delighted master, though he supposed that was mostly because of the venom running through his blood. Removing anxieties, he thought, what a farce, but on some level, he knew even now that his anxieties were mostly about accidentally hurting something. The venom was a suitable aid to the fight. It wasn’t as if his adversaries were fighting so fairly, either. They didn’t have to deal with random, bone-chilling anxieties over nothing in addition to their insignificant, simple lives. Sometimes, it’s very annoying to be a monster.   
    The first “fighter” up delighted Abliss to no end. Warmbloods were his favorite, often challenging him with their speed, with the bonus of having delicious meat. This one was particularly quick, probably sent to the cage for repeated theft. He had a lithe frame, orange blood from the look of it, and a bold demeanor. Abliss’s competitor flashed a daring grin before speaking.  
    “Hey, cutie. I don’t suppose you’re going to introduce yourself, you strike me as kind of shy.”  
    Abliss hissed, dodging a swipe at his forehead. To the orangeblood’s fortune, his claws were now within the monster’s hair. The lowblood sank his claws into Abliss’s scalp and pulled as hard as he could, mockingly, not even expecting any measurable response from Abliss. Abliss whined, incensed at having the possibility of his silky mane to break. It took far too long to grow hair almost five hands long for him to let some petty dirtblood ruin it all. Abliss pushed the tsong back by his own horns, hoping that he would share the headache.   
    The orangeblood stumbled and held out his claws, trying to catch his breath after being pushed. “My name’s Catham,” he said between harsh breaths. “I appreciate - hey!” he growled, not anticipating Abliss to lash at him with his tail. “I was going to say that,” and Abliss allowed him no time for him to finish his statement.  
    “Why talk?” Abliss snapped, yanking at Catham’s hair and pushing his fist at the base of his throat. “Why bore this high audience with your lowly life? Do me,” he gestured to the crowd “and them a favor by making this a little more interesting. Don’t speak again.” At that moment, Catham drew his nails across his opponent’s chest. Abliss’s eyes sparkled, showing his excitement at the quickened pace. He responded by similarly digging his nails into the back of Catham’s neck. It would take as much to get the peasant truly fighting for his life.   
    With the swiftness of the speckled catbug, the peasant darted across the confines. He made desperate efforts to claw the naga in every breath. Still, the energy of the cage remained unsuitable. He still retained too much of the spirit that the Archduke was prepared to break. As his pet, Abliss lived only to serve his master. Then and there he decided that it was imperative to wipe the sour smile from the lowblood’s face.  
    To work to his final goal, Abliss planned to harness his natural power. Not just strength, but the forces that compelled him to cause and love pain. Subtly, hairs-width by hairs-width, he prodded Catham to attack the places that would cause him the most pain. First, he let the peasant swipe stripes down his abdomen and near his neck, benefiting from the adrenaline rushing through him more heavily. Another one of the peasant’s swipes connected at his jawbone, eliciting a hiss and making the naga bare his fangs. Abliss so carefully planned where many of the strikes should land, planning an end in which he could escape the desire for harsh entertainment, and instead fulfill his actual purpose. Eventually, Abliss’s natural reactions overcame his training. So when Catham scratched at where the naga’s skin met his scales, the poor animal knew only the need to kill or be killed. Abliss elbowed Catham’s arm and knocked him to the ground, cracking that side’s shoulder and spilling blood.  
    The orangeblood wasted no time in rising to strike again, but the naga was nothing but calm, letting a small grin begin to form on his lips. To Abliss’s delight, his opponent had become perceptibly lightheaded. His grasps clumsy, his running especially slowed, Catham would not live a much longer life. That fact would be just as apparent and understandable if Catham had not been sent to “fight” a monster for show. Lowbloods are simply destined to live lives too short and too meaningless to ever make a change.   
    Catham took no issue with interrupting highblood’s train of thought. “Face it, sweetie. At the end of our little game, neither one of us gets to-” The lowblood’s voice reached an alarmed pitch before cutting out after the monster slashed him a bloody necklace. To complete the display of savagery, he bared his fangs and ripped his teeth as far as he could into the corpse’s neck and let the blood drip down to the floor. Energized, he spun around to view the reactions of the crowd, subtle, yet approving. It was uncommon for the spectators to have an overt response; such did not follow the custom of the Archduke’s rule.  
    At the end, despite the fanfare, Catham’s path was mostly routine. While a limeblood and an oliveblood dragged most of the lithe body away, Abliss kept the head. It was no hard task to separate the skin from the skull and horns. Simpler still was removing the eyes and flesh remaining within the skull’ interior, so that he could truly gaze into those empty sockets. The light of the night caught so beautifully on the edges of the teeth, and the orbits, and the rest…but it could never be enough. Abliss carefully grasped the skull in his hands and delicately crushed it into fine powder. It would have been a calming way to end the night, but he had only just begun.  
  
 The next challenger appeared gracefully into the cage as if it were a stage upon which she could dance another story. A ballenforcer, strong and red, she came with a dagger and moved as swiftly as the orangeblood did. Her red, transparent gown and long hair accentuated her movements, but she was not so predictable. She positioned herself halfway between the crowd and the center of the ring and waited for him to strike.  
  
    Abliss cracked his knuckles and began to make himself comfortable. Stretching, he brought up his arms and unwound his tail, chancing a teasing swipe at the dancer. She dodged it easily, jumping to her right. At first, he had planned to tease her with another swipe, but she waved her dagger in warning. Instead, Abliss began to completely unwind his tail, stretching the end out towards the barrier that separated the combatants from the spectators. He traced the barrier with the tip, turning slowly, but surely, in a counterclockwise spin.   
 The ballenforcer warily threw her arm back with the dagger in her hand, learned enough to know that it would be unwise to turn her back on a monster. She cautiously kept it pointed at the tip of his tail as they both turned around like the gears in a clock. Delicately, she stepped and twisted to her right, bringing the dagger back in front of herself to wave it in the air. In regular intervals, she would stab down at the beast’s tail, once, even causing him to flinch. Soon, she caught on to how Abliss was winding his tail, giving her a smaller and smaller stage to dance upon, and did not falter. She became more bold in her movements, turning, grinning at the crowd in spare seconds, twisting flamboyantly, and stopping to point the dagger straight at the beast’s heart. She repeated the gestures and added flourishes as the crowd seemed to push for her momentary survival if only to see her dance.   
  
    In such an open arena, Abliss could not rely so much on his usual surprises. He wouldn’t be able to disarm her from behind in short time. Abliss flashed the viewers on one side with a bloody grin before twisting, winding his tail in the other direction. This movement was as useful as it was eye-catching, letting him make greater use of his tail. From there, he swished the tip left and right before drawing it up against the dancer’s back. She retaliated quickly, burying the knife under scales. Still, he wound his tail around her, first pushing her down so that he could go own with his show. The lady was, more quickly than she could process now, surrounded by coils. The deep purple spiral would have suffocated her if the monster gave her the time.  
  
    Instead, he lifted and shook her like a rattle.  
    So he danced with her, showed her what devotion to an art means. He was going to show her and every other stuck-up tsong that a so-called “monster” could be just as refined. He spun her round and round, kissed her, and faced the crowd. He twirled her again and again, more manic now and licked a wide stripe down the center of her face and scalp. Abliss wrapped his tail around her tightly and beamed at the crowd. In a show of drama, he let the dancer’s body fall back, and he caught her in his arms. He looked into the dead woman’s eyes and said: “Live.” 

* * *

  
    His Imperator held the mirror just a hand’s breadth away from the young monster. “There,” he mocked. “There’s your opponent, then! Go on boy, fight for your leader.” Abliss slithered toward the back of the ring, keeping his eyes directly on the Archduke. Ulchin pressed Abliss further, imposingly. “No fear, dear. It’s not like there’s anyone here to hurt you,” he growled, punctuating the penultimate word with a blow about Abliss’s face.  
“No, sir. I’m sorry, sir, so sorry,” he choked. “I don’t want to ruin it for you again, please,” and again, this time with a grip around this throat and his sustainer’s claws scratching down his face.   
“But you have! Again and again, you prove to me your disloyalty.” Ulchin dropped his staff to free his hands for the next onslaught. “You,” he barked “have been the greatest failure to the empire, and you were my greatest mistake.” The Imperator pulled at Abliss’s hair roughly to bring him down to his level. “Do you think you stand above an archduke? The Imperator? You are nothing compared to even the lowest of tsongs.”

* * *

  
    “Warida?” The machine’s eyes glowed. “The Archduke says to prepare this amount of venom, in these types – one vial mamba dendrotoxin, hold the place,”   
    The robot delivered the requested ingredients to the maker in short order. “Now, prepare the cup on the table. Empty every vial into the cup, gently stir…  
  
    Abliss woke with a start, in absence of any particularly startling things this dream. It would be another one of these nights.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I changed the names because I had made some based on Chinese constellations and Arabic star names.


End file.
